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The Danzig crisis was an important prelude to World War II.The crisis lasted from March 1939 until the outbreak of war on 1 September 1939. The crisis began when tensions escalated between Nazi Germany and the Second Polish Republic Poland over the Free City of Danzig (modern-day Gdańsk, Poland).
The Free City of Danzig (German: Freie Stadt Danzig; Polish: Wolne Miasto Gdańsk) was a city-state under the protection and oversight of the League of Nations between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) and nearly 200 other small localities in the surrounding areas. [4]
The Defence of the Polish Post Office in Danzig was one of the first acts of World War II in Europe, as part of the September Campaign. [1] [3]: 39, 42 On 1 September 1939 the Invasion of Poland was initiated by Germany when the battleship Schleswig-Holstein opened fire on the Polish-controlled harbor of Danzig, around 04:45–48 hours.
The 1939 German ultimatum to Poland refers to a list of 16 demands by Nazi Germany to Poland, largely regarding the Polish Corridor and status of the Free City of Danzig attached to German demands to negotiate on August 29, 1939. It was announced on German radio that these points had been rejected on September 1, 1939, even though they were ...
The Danzig crisis of 1932 was an incident between the Free City of Danzig (modern Gdańsk, Poland) and Poland concerning whether the Polish government had the right to station warships in Danzig harbour, together with Poland's claim to represent Danzig with foreign powers.
During the Danzig crisis, Ramsay was one of the few MPs who continued to defend Nazi Germany on the floor of the House of Commons even as Britain moved closer and closer to war with Germany as the crisis intensified in the summer of 1939. [13]
He returned to a diplomatic career in 1937, serving as the final League of Nations High Commissioner for the Free City of Danzig from 1937 to 1939. In that position, he aimed to maintain the international status of Danzig guaranteed by the League of Nations, which brought him into contact with a number of prominent Nazis as he attempted to stave off increasing German demands.
In late April 1939, Moltke was recalled to Berlin to meet with Ribbentrop, who threatened to fire him if he continued to advise that a peaceful outcome to the Danzig Crisis was still possible. [6] On 5 May 1939, Moltke returned to Warsaw, where he loyally, if reluctantly, followed Ribbentrop's orders of pushing the crisis to the brink. [6]